Russia-led war games begin in Armenia

YEREVAN - A Russia-led regional security group began large-scale military exercises in Armenia on Saturday, the most significant war games ever to be staged in the ex-Soviet state, the defence ministry said. Around 2,000 troops from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan are conducting five days of exercises run under the flag of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), Moscow's answer to Nato. "The military exercises are unprecedented in the history of the Armenian armed forces," Armenian Defence Minister Seyran Ohanian said at the launch of the Interaction-2012 sessions. The aim was to create "a regional force that can neutralise potential threats", he said.